@kennedyhistorians I'm writing a book on the Kennedy Administration's work to restore public education to Prince Edward County, Virginia. That community closed its public schools in defiance of #BrownvBoard, opened private schools for the white students, but provided no education for the 1,700 Black students...from 1959-1964. It was the only place in the country without free public education and many southern localities were looking to follow its lead.
@kennedyhistorians @brianeleephd The precursor to the charter school movement and school vouchers. This is important work. I look forward to reading it when it comes out.
@jessicawranosky @kennedyhistorians Thank you. The Kennedys didn't challenge Virginia's tuition grant program, but they did fight to block tuition grants to the segregation academy as long as the public schools were closed. Still, JFK's legacy lived on in Prince Edward County beyond Dallas. His judicial appointees to the Fourth Circuit (Bell and Bryan) along with Sobeloff blocked grants to the Academy as long as it was segregated. Then Bryan and Butzner crippled the state law and then killed it.